By Jack Day
If you are at all concerned about the future of agriculture or the fate of the food industry itself, then you might want to book yourself a ticket to Milan, Italy for the 2015 World’s Fair EXPO that is happening right now. Don’t worry it runs through October. More than just a food show with delicious sounding treats from all over the globe, the EXPO is also a meeting place for the world’s leading experts in meeting food demands to communicate and showcase their work.
Nearly 145 countries are represented in the small village that has taken form in the Italian city, and they all want to show off their visions of the future. From new ways of growing crops, to the most sustainable gardens on the planet, each country has myriad booths and displays to demonstrate their creations and inventions.
While technology is the star, the underlying theme of the fair is, “Feeding the Planet.” So along with the new methods of sustainability, there is also a focus on traditional methods of agriculture that aim to highlight crops like quinoa from Bolivia or rice from Cambodia.
Armed with the nations best food trucks and enormous warehouse sized vertical gardens, the United States brought quite a lot to the EXPO. The garden display was constructed from recycled wood that was taken from walkways along Coney Island, and once inside visitors marvel at the amazing space saving advantages that such a design offers.
The food trucks were an added bonus as their popularity in America has now escalated onto the world stage. The goal of vendors was not only to serve up their highly acclaimed creations, but to show that it is possible for a food truck to do so. Without sacrificing taste or quality and embracing creativity and ingenuity, food trucks are demonstrating they can be a great source in food distribution among densely populated urban environments.
What would a World’s Fair in Milan Italy with the theme of ‘Feeding the Planet’ be without pizza you ask? Still awesome, but why even think about it? And just to show you how serious the EXPO was about their pizza, they needed 80 volunteers to make the 5000 foot long pie. Nearly 35,000 slices of delicious Italian pizza was then served up, and a resounding, “Momma Mia!” rang through the grounds. There was also a portion set aside for refugees entering Milan in the welcome centers of the city.
What do you think about the World’s Fair in Milan? Were you like me and had no idea there even was one? I’m pretty glad to know that it is still going on, and with a theme like Feeding the Planet, it seems like the EXPO really has the right idea. Please tell us your thoughts and comments and share this with your friends and family!